Gaming device manufacturers strive to make gaming devices that provide as much enjoyment and excitement as possible. Providing a game in which a player has an opportunity to win multiple awards and potentially large awards or credits are ways to enhance player enjoyment and excitement. Currently, gaming machines or devices provide games wherein a player has one or more opportunities to obtain a winning symbol combination on mechanical or video reels. In these gaming devices, the player initiates the spinning of the reels by making one or more wagers on one or more paylines. Such gaming devices may have one, three, five, nine, fifteen, twenty-five or any other suitable number of paylines which are horizontal, vertical, diagonal or any combination thereof. In these gaming devices, the player wagers on a designated number or combination of paylines, such as one, two, three, five, ten or fifteen paylines. After the player wagers on one or more paylines, the gaming device generates and displays a plurality of symbols and an award is provided based on the symbols or combinations of symbols generated along the one or more wagered on paylines. In other gaming devices, a payout is provided based on a “scatter pay.” A scatter pay includes a pay for the occurrence of designated symbols anywhere on the symbol display. In these gaming devices, symbols generated on the symbol display are evaluated for winning combinations as if the symbols were generated along a traditional payline of adjacently arranged symbols.
In one known gaming device, a payline upon which a player did not directly wager is activated, thus providing the player an increased chance of winning an award. In another known gaming device, one payline is associated with a greater value than another payline, wherein the greater valued payline provides a greater award for the same symbol combination than another payline. For example, a higher multiplier can be associated with the greater valued payline. Another known gaming device randomly selects a set of symbol locations which define an additional mystery payline in a game. The mystery payline, however, is not enhanced by any value.
To increase player enjoyment and excitement, it is desirable to provide players with new and different payline features in a slot machine.